A checklist for finance leaders

Key questions to ask when you’re evaluating ERP solutions

A checklist for
finance leaders

Finance doesn't look much like finance anymore. Sure, you're handling all the traditional duties of the job, but as business continues to change, so do your roles and responsibilities:


49%
of finance professionals say they're now in charge of volatility management.*

44%
say cybersecurity is under their purview.*

45%
manage sustainability and ESG.*

49%
have taken on tech-strategy and road mapping.*

This is good. This is an opportunity. This is how you continue to help your company grow and evolve. But without a modern cloud technology stack to help you step up, you're left trying to future-proof finance with outdated tools. In fact, nearly two-thirds of finance leaders say their current ERP or financial system*:

  • Will not scale to support growth
  • Is not cloud-supported
  • Is no longer maintained by the vendor
  • Is not able to aggregate data for reporting

In other words, the tech tools that are supposed to save you time aren't saving you anything. And you're still too busy with financial closings, receivables/payables/ accruals management, revenue accounting, and reconciliations to focus on your new responsibilities.

* Source: CFO Insights: Adapting the Role of Finance to Unlock Business Value

To get the help you need look for cloud ERP solutions that:

1 Simplify work
2 Accelerate growth
3 Secure success

1 SIMPLIFY WORK

Find an ERP system that helps finance work smarter, faster, and more accurately, so they can spend more time on strategy

Will this ERP solution give us a single source of financial truth?

Make sure it:

Eliminates data silos and the need to reconcile data from multiple sources.
Accesses the same financial data across the organization for consistent reporting and faster audits.

Does it help us access real-time financial insights?

Be sure the solution you choose:

Supports soft closes and continuous accounting.
Provides access to financial and managerial reports before close.
Make period end close faster and easier with record-to-report automation.

Can it effectively manage cashflow?

Make sure you can:

Optimize cash management with timely insights into cash positions.
Increase cash forecasting accuracy.
Accelerate invoice processing with automated invoice matching.

2 ACCELERATE GROWTH

Get an ERP solution that helps finance grow the business through best practices and easier entry into new markets.

Will this ERP system utilize best practices?

Make sure the solution you choose:

Uses best practice templates to easily adopt and accelerate standard finance processes.
Implements industry-specific requirements.
Supports processes specific for our organization.

Can it help us enter new markets?

Be sure you can:

Support regional accounting standards and business practices, right out-of-the-box.
Easily work with multiple currencies and languages.

Will it be easier to manage multiple entities?

You need to be able to:

Quickly add new acquisitions or divest entities to your financial system.
Easily account for multiple entities, including close and consolidation.

3 SECURE SUCCESS

Find an ERP solution that helps finance steer the business, scale up processes, and meet new requirements as the business evolves.

Does the solution offer more effective financial planning and analysis?

It should help you:

Gain immediate insights with interactive dashboards and reports.
Analyze performance with simulation, what-if scenarios, and predictive analytics.
Share financial plans and insights across the organization.

Will it help us scale increasingly complex processes?

It should:

Accommodate organizational changes requiring complex financial processes, such as multiple reporting standards, consolidation, and predictive accounting.

Does it meet future needs?

Be sure the solution you choose:

Easily and quickly adds advanced capabilities.
Takes advantage of extensive partner network of experts.
Provides the latest technology and best-practice innovations.

Find an ERP solution that will help you GROW

See how GROW with SAP takes you to the cloud with confidence. Then take a product tour for deeper details.







    *SAP https://www.sap.com/portugal/documents/2024/04/40ad739c-b57e-0010-bca6-c68f7e60039b.html